OKC gets hot from outside to take down Atlanta, 103-94

Something about New Year’s in Oklahoma City and fun basketball games. Or more specifically, winning basketball games.

The Thunder used some seriously hot shooting to take down the Hawks 103-94 behind 33 from Kevin Durant and a triple-double from Russell Westbrook. OKC went 10-18 from 3 – this being from one of the worst outside shooting teams in the league – while holding the typically solid Hawks to just 5-18 from the money line.

Three points to make about this game:

1) Serge Ibaka was terrific. I had a feeling that the Al Horford – Jeff Green matchup would be a tough situation for OKC so Scott Brooks went with Ibaka in the second half. Serge saw 31 minutes and registered 10 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks while holding Horford to just 14.

2) I thought the Thunder’s second half defense was seriously excellent. Specifically the fourth quarter. Everything the Hawks attempted seemed to be forced and contested. A good example of that was Joe Johnson going just 6-20 from the field. Without a big game from Jamal Crawford, OKC cruises to a bit easier win.

3) James Harden might have been the most valuable player in this game for OKC. I can’t stop talking about how confident he looks right now. He was just so… decisive. He never hesitated on an open 3 and even actually maybe forced a couple. Which honestly was nice to see. He scored 15 on 5-6 shooting and 3-4 from 3 with his only miss rimming in and out.

This is a really good win for the Thunder because OKC just clicked. The second half defense was great, the shooters shot well and the good players played really well. Easy to win to when those things happen.

NOTES:

Definitely worth noting HOW Russell Westbrook got his triple-double. He was short an assist and with OKC up 101-92 with 20 seconds left, Ibaka broke wide open under the basket. He was open because the Hawks weren’t exactly trying. Westbrook, obviously understanding what he needed, dropped it to Ibaka for a dunk. The Hawks didn’t take kindly to it, running down the floor to score and then lingering after the game for a second. I don’t blame Russ at all. It’s professional basketball. What’s the big difference between a nine-point win and a seven-point one? It’s not like it was rubbing it in. At least not to me.

Hawks coach Larry Drew said, “”You don’t do that. The game is over with. The game is over with. You’ve got the ball, you run the clock out. Just that plain and simple.” But Atlanta was still trying to score with the game over too. I don’t know, not something to get worked up about in my mind.

However, Scott Brooks wasn’t a fan of the play and said he talked to Westbrook about it. “When you’ve got the game won, you run the clock out,” Brooks said.

Jeff Green, not great. 10 points and only one rebound in 20 minutes. Again, tough matchup for him tonight and as a result, he was saddled with foul trouble early in the third quarter. However in those 20 minutes, he was a +13, which was a game high.

KD was just so money. I keep telling you, he’s in his groove. He went 5-9 from 3 and every one he let go, I was convinced it was dropping. I feel like he’s going to average around 30-33 points a game for the rest of the season.

Westbrook was clearly great, but he did into forcing things a bit while he tried to takeover at times. You can live with it because even when it’s bad, it’s kind of good, but he definitely worked really hard.

OKC worked Atlanta on the glass 42-36, which was nice. Only five offensive rebounds for Atlanta.

Josh Smith just looks so good when he dunks.

Just 17 free throw attempts for the Thunder which is a little low. Made 15 though.

I think a big key to OKC’s outside shooting was how there wasn’t much hesitation. It seemed like the players just got in a rhythm and felt good about every shot they took. I don’t want to say this is going to carry over because sometimes players get hot, but I’m hoping this is a turn-the-corner type of thing.

Harden was again great offensively, but he played great defensively as well. He, along with Durant, were a big reason Joe Johnson went 6-20 from the floor. I continue to be super stoked about Harden right now.

"However, Scott Brooks wasn’t a fan of the play and said he talked to Westbrook about it. “When you’ve got the game won, you run the clock out,” Brooks said."

I sooo have to disagree. Just because Atlanta gave up and decided they didn't want to defend/play for the full 48 minutes doesn't mean that we have to stop. How is that fair to the players? I say if the other team doesn't want to play the whole time, fine. Rub it in their faces. Besides, 20 seconds is forever in "NBA time", especially for a 9 point difference.

I met both of those guys at a house party last night after the game and talked Thunder with them for a good 30 minutes. It was really cool to meet such huge fans who love this team as much as I do. Watching NBA basketball on New Years Eve in person is a beautiful thing.

@EthanWe saw Wilkens laughing also. We even rewound it to check. Its clear that dude is the rare distraction that actually gets through to these jaded pros when they shoot. Someone said he had Kenyon Martin cracking up at the Christmas game as well. And both of them ended up only going 1-2.

@DizzyDaiNo, we'd still be the fourth seed even if we won. San Antonio, Dallas, and the Lakers would still all have better records than us...and since division champions are only guaranteed a top-four seed, that's how we would be seeded: #1 SA, #2 DAL, #3 LAL, #4 OKC.

Jim :Are your kidding, JG not great? He got ‘em off to a great start. Played his team role pretty well. His contributions aren’t respected much in my view. Crap, There are MANY teams in the league that “would take him.” without a second thought.

Gotta agree with you, obviously there are a lot of folks who disagree, but he is the one that got us fired up at the beginning of this game. Plays his team role well, not flashy, but steady. At least that's how I've seen it over the months. And I can remember several games that he's won it at the last minute for us.

Green hit a few jumpers early and got cocky. He forced two shots in the post over double teams, had a turnover later, and a missed three early in the shot clock.

I thought the offense looked bad towards the end of the game and we lucked out a bit with some hot shooting. Russ and KD were forcing the issue and we played mostly isolation ball against the Hawks, especially when they went to the zone. I didn't see much difference from the offense in the fourth quarter tonight and against Dallas the other night for example. They just made more of the long jump shots.

@JimWhen DOES JG stuff the stat sheet? Last night was much better management of Jeff, only 20 minutes. Unfortunately, it was the foul trouble that did it, not Brooks. He'll go back to 39 minutes tonight...

Great game, though. KD is back to KD, Serge played great, and Harden was spectacular...Harden must must must get 30+ minutes a night, no question.

Great win last night. Thought pretty much everyone played really well, especially Harden, whose lack of hesitation these days makes me very happy. Looking forward to tonight's game with SAS, but since it is at the same time as the OU bowl game, I think I am going to have to put together a dual TV setup.

Are your kidding, JG not great? He got 'em off to a great start. Played his team role pretty well. His contributions aren't respected much in my view. Crap, There are MANY teams in the league that "would take him." without a second thought. I thought he played a great game. Although he fouled out, he played within in the flow, seems to have filled his role pretty well. Ya don't stuff the stat's every nite. I'm thinking the coaching staff has favorable marks for Uncle Jeff's game against the hawks? Same with Sefolosha, limited minutes, but he made 'em count.It's a TEAM.

I only got to see the last couple of quarters but seemed like a great game from OKC-super excited to see the major threes dropping. I always loved Maynor's touch and good to see him taking those.

Green did great at the top of the game but for sure, it's hard to compare his game and Harden's-James is just as solid as can be, and I wish both he and Collison were getting more minutes-and I'm with @Royce-I don't mind him taking more shots at all, since he really is probably officially reliable.

The big man situation didn't get us this time, but it was a glaring hole in the parts of the game I saw-they could just post up so well, and Serge had a good last second help position but never seemed to challenge the shot till too late.